Malaga for your Costa del Sol Holiday from White Sands to Picasso

Enjoy HOLIDAY RENTALS IN COSTA DEL SOL for one of the best towns in Andalucia where you'll find white beaches to works of art from the artist Picasso. Malaga international airport, one of the largest in Spain, welcomes 10 million visitors every year, most of who travel out of Malaga and head straight down onto the beaches. These visitors come from all over the world and it is not surprising: Andalucia has everything a foreigner thinks of when you mention Spain. The rugged mountains, towns high up on cliff faces seemingly clinging to the rocks, the flamenco dancing and the Spanish guitars. A land littered with monuments, cathedrals, castles and white washed villages hidden deep in the beautiful valleys. Of giant faces, fireworks, fiestas and bull fighting. These are just some of the things you will find when visiting Andalucia.



What about Malaga? It is a capital city and like many of the others in Spain it is steeped in a history of 3000 years. Excavations in the city have uncovered signs of early Iberian settlers, Carthaginians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Visigoths and the Moors. All of the surrounding areas of Malaga filled with monuments.



The cathedral is officially called "La Santa Iglesia Catedral Basílica de la Encarnación" although the locals know it as La Manquita or "the one-armed lady". Its lop-sided look is from its early incarnation. The original designs called for two towers but unfortunately the town ran out of money and could only afford to construct the one. It took such a long time to build that parts of the cathedral are baroque while others are clearly renaissance and neo classical.



The Alcazaba is a Moorish fort built in the 11th century which served as the palace of governors for the Zind ruler in Granada. This one is the best preserved of all the Alcazabas in Spain. Originally the fort was connected to the city ramparts forming a third defensive wall, but only the inner walls remain. The archaeological museum is housed inside the castle. Near the entrance to the castle are the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre. Looking down upon the Alcazaba is Malaga's other castle, the Gibralfaro. Its ancient ruins are built on the top of an old Phoenician enclosure, the name Gibralfaro comes from the Phoenician word Jbel-Faro meaning "Rock of light". From the top of the castles, it is possible to get a panoramic view of the whole city including the port below.



At the foot of mount Gibralfaro is the Palacio de la Aduana which was originally the customs house for the port of Malaga. Work began in 1791 and halfway through construction the French sacked the building during the Peninsula Wars. However the damage was repaired and work continued after the war until its completion in 1829. During the 19th century, the building was used by the Royal Tobacco Company and then by the Spanish government during the early part of the Franco era. Now though it is used by the Policia Nacional and the Museo de Malaga, although by the time this article comes out the Policia National may have moved.



For fans of the artist Picasso, the Museo Picasso is the ideal way to see the artist’s work. Some of his lesser known pieces hang alongside famous works collected together in the museum in the town where the artist was born. One of the best ways to see all the monuments when on your HOLIDAY RENTALS IN COSTA DEL SOL would be by open topped double decker bus: a sure way to remind you of home if you ever needed one.